Europe Parliament Calls for Crackdown on Russia’s Shadow Fleet

 

The members of the European Parliament on Thursday, November 14, overwhelmingly approved by a show of hands a new resolution calling for enhancing the enforcement of the price cap on Russian oil by cracking down on the shadow fleet. While the Parliament is proposing to move to a ban on Russian energy imports, reports are saying Germany has already taken that move at its state-operated gas import terminals.

The resolution in Parliament comes as the European Union is preparing its next round of sanctions on Russia and considering its next steps to support Ukraine after the election of Donald Trump as the next U.S. president. The media is reporting that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are meeting to plan the next steps in the European strategy to support Ukraine.

A letter sent by the German economy ministry, The Financial Times reports, is instructing Deutsche Energy Terminal not to accept any deliveries of Russian LNG. Germany historically was Russia’s largest importer of LNG before the invasion of Ukraine but moved to end its dependence on Russia by establishing floating LNG import terminals.  Today’s Financial Times article reports the government is saying due to public interests it is calling on the operators to reject Russian LNG deliveries “until further notice.”

The European Parliament resolution also recognizes that the EU “must ban all imports of Russian fossil fuels.” In particular, France, Spain, and Belgium have continued their imports of Russian LNG citing long-term contracts. Their ministries have suggested the EU would have to enact a total ban to free the countries of their obligation.

The new resolution in the Parliament recognizes that Russia continues to finance its war through oil exports despite EU, G7, and international sanctions. It highlights the so-called fleet of “shadow tankers,” older vessels often uninsured and without clear ownership, as providing a “key financial lifeline.”

The European Parliament is calling for more targeted measures against the shadow fleet in the next EU sanctions package, including all individual ships as well as their owners, operators, managers, banks, and insurance companies. Among the steps they are calling for are systematic sanctions on the vessels sailing through EU waters without known insurance.

The resolution urges enhancing surveillance capabilities using drones and satellite monitoring, as well as conducting targeted inspections at sea. They want to designate ports capable of handling sanctioned vessels and call for seizing illegal cargo without compensation.

Better enforcement is required for the sanctions they agreed all in an effort to crack down on the loopholes that Russia continues to use. 

In some of its most direct language, the European Parliament says member states are urged to ban all imports of Russian fossil fuels, including LNG. They also recommend that the EU should “seriously reassess its bilateral cooperation with third countries that are helping Russia circumvent EU restrictive measures in place, if diplomatic efforts are unsuccessful.”

The EU in June 2024 adopted its fourteenth package of sanctions against the Russian economy, The European Council last month took further steps by establishing a new framework for restrictive measures including allowing the EU to target individuals and entities engaged in the activities.

 Last week, after the U.S. elections, Josep Borrell, Vice-President of the European Commission and its top diplomat, visited Ukraine to reassure officials of the EU’s unwavering commitment. He said the next sanctions package, the EU’s fifteenth, was currently being prepared.